Sangur, Gabrielland

Sangur
Capital city
City of Sangur Sngōreh Kzamā
Clockwise from top: Skyline of Sangur, Arsyan Parliament, Sangur city hall, Hgaztak monument, East Sangur canals, Addarti Road
Nickname:  "City of a thousand rivers"
Motto(s):  "Klōmeh Gzit, Aršēhē Mzol" ("Pride of Kalamar, Soul of Arsya")
Country	Gabrielland
Region	Arsya
Province	Arsya
Government
• Mayor	Lohmmi Tāgār (PDA)
Area
• Capital city	217.9 km2 (84.1 sq mi)
Elevation	8 m (26 ft)
Population  (2017)
• Capital city	2,701,304
• Metro	3,814,815
Demonym(s)	Azongur (m), Azēngēr (f)
Time zone	UTC-3 (GST)
Postal code	7
Area code	381
Vehicle registration	R/(A-R)

Sangur (Arsyan: [ˈsɑŋkʏr], Gabrielt: [saˈŋʊr]) is the capital city and largest city of the Kingdom of Arsya, both in term of area and population. With a population of 2.7 million people, it is the second largest city in Gabrielland and makes it one of the most populated cities in the Dokodo Union. The city, along with several satelite cities, form the Sangur metropolitan area, home to 3.8 million people or about 10% of the population of Arsya. It is also the administrative center of the region and province of Arsya, making it the administrative center of three different administrative levels. The city is bordered by the Arsyan sea to its east, Včin municipality to its north and west, as well as Kazogur municipality to its south.

The city was first documented as Margandda in an early Arsyan manuscript from the 8th century AD, where it served as the capital of the Kingdom of Junram. The importance of Margandda grew during the consolidation of the Tahkki kingdom in the late 11th century AD, when the city was conquered by the invading forces and made the capital of the Tahkki kingdom. In the early 14th century, a group of Arsyan kings hired mercenaries from Anderum to beseige the capital of Tahkki and take control of the surrounding lands. In 1308, the seige was declared a victory, although pyrrhic, and the mercenaries promptly renamed the city into Sangur as an homage to the Sangur back in Anderum. It became the capital of the Arsyan confederation, then the Arsyan kingdom, and finally the realm of Arsya in modern-day Gabrielland, with Sangur also serving as the capital of the short-lived Arsyan Republic between 1976 and 1985.

Sangur is a world city of culture, politics, and media. The economy of Sangur is mainly based on high tech firms, institutions, and coroporations, encompassing a diverse and sundry forms of service, manufacture, and goods, with the bulk of Gabrielland's startup and high-tech research facilities mainly located in Sangur. Sangur also serves as the railway and air hub of northern Gabrielland, and also serves as the capital of the Gabrielt automotive union. The downtown of Sangur is also a world-heritage site, as it preserve the buildings, canals, and landscape presented in the Arsyan Baroque style from the 18th centuries, a style which is still popular in Sangur today.

Renowned universities within Gabrielland are located in Arsya, including the Arsyan Institute of Science (AIS) and the Royal Arsyan University (RAU), the oldest university in Arsya. The city has numerous museums, parks, monuments, and historic buildings, with the most famous ones being the Arsyan Parliament, the city hall, and the Hgaztak monument. The Arsyan People's Zoo is the largest zoo in Gabrielland, and is frequented by visitors, with a record high attendance in 2019.

History

The history of Sangur could be first attributed to the documentation by classical Arsyan scribes from the Junram Kingdom, in which the city was said to be named after King Margandda II of the Malarri Kingdom, to which it served the capital of the entire kingdom from the rise of the Junram dynasty to its fall to the Tahkki Kingdom in around 1086 AD. Remnants of houses and buildings have been dug up near the banks of the Kalamar river near the sea along with several household items and housewares dating back to the early 8th century, further strengthening the writings from the Junram Kingdom.

The city would change hands multiple times in history, with the Tahkki Kingdom seizing the city and repurposing the city as the capital until being besieged by mercenaries from Anderum in 1308, when the city was declared a city state in the Margandda treaty of 1308, then renamed into Sangur. It served as the capital and political hub of the Arsyan confederation during its concpetion in the late 17th century, then becoming the royal capital of the Arsyan Kingdom in the 19th century, until its incorporation into Gabrielland and Arsya where it retained its capital status for the Kingdom of Arsya, however no longer a national capital.

Early beginnings

The earliest piece of evidence found to indicate the existence of an ancient city within the grounds of present-day Sangur was unearthed in 1981, when a park was excavated near the Arsyan parliament in the city center to unearth a fully-intact house filled with various sorts of household items and objects, carbon-dated to be from the early 8th century. In the manuscripts, the city was described as being the city of Margandda, serving as the capital of the Junram Kingdom. Subsequent excavations in nearby locations unearthed more social places such as markets, shops, and boutiques from the era.

Given the importance of the city, both for its already huge population even for classical Arsya and its strategic location at the banks of the Kalamar river near the mouth, the city was highly contested by neighboring kingdoms and duchies. Early defence strucutres such as towers and walls were at least known since the times of the Arsyan confederation, however were not attributed to the Junram Kingdom. The old city walls of Margandda is the dividing line between the old downtown of Sangur and the rest of Sangur, and also the world heritage side in modern applications.

Tahkki Kingdom

In 1085, the Tahkki Kingdom invaded the Junram Kingdom and incorporated into their territory as a vassal, however, the surrounding areas of Margandda were kept as an integral part of the kingdom and was made the capital, moving the capital from Vratama. The Tahkki Kingdom, with its larger size both in population and area, brought tremendous changes to Margandda, revamping and renovating the city to fit the needs of a capital city worthy of a kingdom the size of Tahkki. In 1138, the first well-preserved building in Sangur was built (Gaztur's tower), and was a sign of an early attempt at urban renewal done by city authorities at the time.

The city limits of Margandda kept expanding in response to the ever increasing population coming from all over Tahkki, and by the late 12th century, the city was recorded to have a population of 100,000 people, a massive size for the time. Numerous protests were recorded against the Tahkki Kingdom for bad urban planning and sanitation, which led to the 1207 plague of Arsya, killing every third Arsyan and half of Margandda.

Geography

Topography

Being in northern Gabrielland and on the banks of the Kalamar river, the land around the city is fairly flat and low lying surrounded by marsh, itself being part of the greater east Arsyan lowlands.